Need to provide affordable medical facilities to people living in rural areas

Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh . The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has stressed the need to provide affordable medical facilities to people living in rural areas. He also asked medical colleges to encourage students to visit rural areas and understand the healthcare requirements of poor and downtrodden.

Addressing the Diamond Jubilee of Rangaraya Medical College and Golden Jubilee of its Old Students Association, in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh today, Shri Naidu advocated that a doctor in the government service must mandatorily serve in rural areas before getting his/her first promotion.

The Vice President said that the Governments draw up policies and programs to improve healthcare. But it is the doctors at the grass-root level who play a key role in making them successful, he added.

The Vice President asked the young doctors to be sensitive to patients and their family. He said an important complement such as bonding and personal touch was missing in today’s treatment due to work pressure, increased reliance on investigations and commercialization of the profession. He advised doctors to spend more time and establish personal bond with the patient and his/her relatives and said that doctor’s gentle touch and kind words could soothe the frayed nerves of a nervous patient and produce a calming effect.
(UPDATED ON JANUARY 5TH, 2019)